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Quest for the Baron's Kolchak hat....

lazarus1328

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
usa
So my tale begins as follows; Perhaps if I had found this forum before hand my story might be different. Especially after reading the thread entitled "The Great Baron's Hat Experiment", but at any rate here it goes none the less. Since I was seven years old or so I was captivated by the character portrayed so artfully on screen by Darren Mcgavin, that of iconoclastic newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak, defender of the forth-estate and timeless slayer of vampires.

What I had always wanted from that age on is what any hardcore fan of the 70's Nightstalker series would want, the lid that made Carl Kolchak the recognizable character he is.... Kolchak's unique and unmistakable hat. I had searched high and low and finally with the advent of the internet and treasure trove sites like Ebay I had tools like none before me. So I had managed to find everything Kolchak down to the last detail. I had found the exact model of trusty tape recorder, the same sony model used in the TV series and also on the last moon landing, believe it or not. Kolchak's Rollie german made 25mm camera and flash. I had a custom altered searsucker blazer that fit like a glove. I could practically feel the spirit of Darren Mcgavin smiling upon me.

I was missing one thing to make this quest complete, yes that's right...the hat. So after some searching I find the Baron web site and there in all of it's glory is the holy grail, that unique unmistakable hat that would make everything fall into place. So after ordering it September the second of 2010, I get a confirmation of completion date of November the second. Of course I was shooting for Halloween but I was hoping they might complete it early, the promise of the famous lid was better than no hat at all. A week before Halloween I send an E-mail to customer service and find myself corresponding with a friendly gal by the name of Jessica with the tittle of Store Manager/Design Consultant. She responds promptly informing me that my hat can't be completed by early before Halloween due to the business of the holiday. I can understand that I say but it was worth a try.

So I wait patiently for November 2nd watching my in box. A week after this date and still not a word. I finally send an E-mail asking if she can give me an update on my order as my deadline had came and went. Fairly quick to respond, she tells me after a few emails back and forth that do to whatever circumstance my hat was going to be delayed till December 2nd, but it still had a chance to be completed before than. OK I say... I can live with that, I am after all a patient man and after a few decades of being on this quest I can wait another month or less if I was lucky.

Needless to say the second deadline came and went and after a week or so I sent another e-mail.."Just wondering what was going on with my order, have yet to hear anything and it's sometime past the completion date." I sent an email to Mark who responded promptly with "I will check on your order and get back to you ASAP." Alright, now I'm getting somewhere. Four days later, I hear nothing. I then send an Email to prompt Jessica who replies within a couple hours and tells me she will check with the owner and get back to me, they were experiencing delays in the work room and she apologizes once again for the delay. This was last Friday, December the 10th. So its Sunday the 12th and here I find myself joining this group and writing this little Pulitzer human interest piece...finding myself wondering if I am a unwitting participant in my own "Baron Hat Experiment".... more to come I hope...Wallace ...
 
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Mobile Vulgus

One Too Many
Messages
1,144
Location
Chicago
Tales of woe in ordering specialty items. I have seen them in every area. Civil War reproductions, modeling, shoe and boot making, hat making.... just about everything that is made by hand takes forever and delays are constantly occurring. Sadly, many times orders just end up being canceled.

I guess there is no help for it, either. Usually these specialty shops only have one, two, three workers handling orders and things just take a long time... much longer than our needs for instant gratification these days.

I hate it too and usually just don't order things in the mail unless I can't avoid it. I usually wait until a trade show or an event pops up where the vendor is on site and has wares already produced and for sale on the spot.

As and aside, lazarus1328, I might suggest another "experiment" for you. Paragraphs. It makes a story much easier to read.
:)

(Edit to say... Yaaa, after my gentle pushing our friendly new poster split his story into readable paragraphs. Good on ya, Laz.)
 
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Fedora Jay

Familiar Face
Messages
80
Location
Anaheim, CA
Wow, quite a story and quite a block of text! Paragraphs would definitely help, I lost my place three times reading that.

I was considering taking my Knox to Barons for re-blocking, but after the other Barons thread and this, I don't think they really deserve my business. I understand custom work takes time, but a business that's been around should know how long their product takes to make. A month long delay is pretty unprofessional. I'd accept it if it were a one man operation doing it on the side, but a brick and mortar shop with a full blown e-commerce site should be better than this.
 

lazarus1328

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
usa
Well, I hope my formatting pros is better now, sorry about that chief. I'm new to the whole custom hat thing, so any input is helpful. I haven't any choice but to wait and see....
 

lazarus1328

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
usa
Actually, what would be really helpful is if any can tell me if they have bought this hat and if so, was it of good quality and received on time..:)
 

Lando

Practically Family
Messages
588
Location
VT, USA
It sucks. I'm not going to get into any kind of Bash Barons mode though. Ive banged their hats around a bit and the quality is descent. Nothing out of this world but good everyday quality. It is sad that this customer service nightmare still goes on with them. I'm not up on the woven hats, but I'm sure there must be some custom guys out there that could make something like the Kolchak hat, and probably under a better umbrella of customer service. I don't mind a long wait, I just want honesty. Sorry Sir, I hope you get the hat you want.
 

Dewhurst

Practically Family
Messages
653
Location
USA
How's that... ??? Everyone is a critic these days...LOL.. Thanks for the input though...

So true. You just want to unload your story and all of a sudden everyone and their grandmother is an English major, right?

Many people have had Baron's Odyssey's, so you are in a small but definitely recognizable group of people. As far as I know, delays and all, everyone basically gets the hat they ordered. A few people have been wowed by the quality, a few have been disappointed. You know how it is.

Anyway, Welcome, welcome to this forum.

My time-stamp reveals me for the late night reprobate that I am. For shame.
 
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DanielJones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,042
Location
On the move again...
Best of luck to you. Hopefully your experience won't last longer than this and you get what you want. But, I'm not going to hold my breath on their customer service.

Cheers!

Dan
 

wbf1230

New in Town
Messages
1
Location
tennessee
That sucks. I have had Baron's quote me some hats but have yet to order and after this I probably will not. I started to order the Kolchak once before and I did not.
 

lazarus1328

New in Town
Messages
7
Location
usa
Welp 1320, as it turns out you might have made the right move. Ive hunted high and low... and haven't really found anyone who does custom straw weave types of hats. I'm pretty good at research, you would have thought I might have got lucky by now. I'm new to this forum and have yet to fully utilize all the links and such. I know I can't be the only guy out there that can appreciate a modified boater/pork pie/fedora type lid....
 

DanielJones

I'll Lock Up
Messages
4,042
Location
On the move again...
Just remember to keep all, and I mean all, of your e-mails back and forth with them. Don't bother with phone calls unless you can record them. Make sure you have every correspondence with them printed out and saved in triplicate. From all the troubles other folks have had in the past this is the best way to CYA. Especially if they keep putting your delivery date out another month each month. You may have to ride them down like Slim Pickens on a tactical nuke in order to get what you want when you want. Being patient is ok if they are one month late on a promised due date, but beyond that, it's game on. Don't let up on them.

Cheers!

Dan
 

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